1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coin hopper that dispenses coins one by one by means of a rotational disc. More specifically, it relates to a coin hopper that allows easy attachment and detachment of a retaining bowl for retaining coins.
2. Description of Related Art
Coin hoppers are used in automatic teller machines, coin dispensers, game machines and other devices. A typical coin hopper includes a base, a detachable retaining bowl for holding coins and a rotating disc for dispensing coins. A “jamming phenomenon” sometimes occurs when a coin is sandwiched between the base and the rotating disc, thereby locking the disc. When this occurs, the retaining bowl must be detached from the base, the coins are removed from the retaining bowl, and the rotating disc detached to permit the jammed coin to be removed. Thereafter, the rotating disc and the retaining bowl are reattached to restore the coin hopper to an operational state. In these circumstances, various conventional designs have been proposed to permit detachment of the retaining bowl.
Conventional hoppers often feature a first latch on the retaining bowl that attaches to the base and a second latch that may include a spring that also attaches to the base. The retaining bowl is positioned and fixed with respect to the rotating disc by the first and the second latches. When the first and the second latches are poorly aligned, the retaining bowl is not properly positioned, leading to the possibility that the rotating disc will contact the retaining bowl. In addition, since the second latch is attached by a spring, it is necessary to make the spring force large enough to prevent the retaining bowl from vibrating during operation, further complicating attachment and detachment of the retaining bowl. If the spring force is reduced to make detachment easier, the retaining bowl may vibrate during operation reducing the expected life the hopper.
Thus, the industry is still seeking improvements in removably attaching a retaining bowl in coin dispensing apparatus.